REPORT: Russia says it would retaliate for US sanctions over Ukraine

The United States received nomination from Russia ahead of its test-fire of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Tuesday, in line with Moscow's commitments under the nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, a U.S. official said.
   
The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said initial notification of Russia's test plans pre-dated Russia's military intervention in Crimea.
  
This comes as Russia said it had successfully test-fired an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), with tensions high over its seizure of control in the Crimea and its threat to send more forces to its neighbour Ukraine.
  
The Strategic Rocket Forces launched an RS-12M Topol missile from the southerly Astrakhan region near the Caspian Sea and the dummy warhead hit its target at a proving ground in Kazakhstan, the state-run news agency RIA cited Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Yegorov as saying.

This as Russia said that it would retaliate if the United States imposed sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.          

"We will have to respond," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement. "As always in such situations, provoked by rash and irresponsible actions by Washington, we stress: This is not our choice."

In turn, the Ukrainian and Russian governments have begun high-level contacts on the crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said.

Yatseniuk reiterated that Russia should withdraw forces back to bases in the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea and halt actions which he said threatened to destabilize the region. President Vladimir Putin said in Moscow he would use force in Ukraine only as a last resort.

This comes after Russian navy ships have blocked off the Kerch Strait which separates Ukraine's Crimea region and Russia, the Ukrainian border guard service said.       

The border guards have said that Russian servicemen are in control of the Crimean side of the narrow channel and that Russian armored vehicles have been sighted on the Russian side.           

"The Kerch Strait is blocked by two Russian ships - from the north and from the south," Pavel Shishurin, the deputy head of the border guards, told reporters.        

Earlier, Russian troops who had taken control of the Belbek air base in the Crimea region have fired warning shots into the air as around 300 Ukrainian soldiers, who previously manned the airfield, demanded their jobs back.

Meanwhile, two Russian warships passed through Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, thought to be en-route to the Crimean peninsula.

The two ships arrived in Turkish waters on Monday, according to Turkey's state-run news agency.

Also on Tuesday, a private Turkish news agency said a Ukrainian frigate had passed through the Dardanelles Strait en route to the Black Sea.

Russian troops have been tightening their stranglehold on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, openly defying the US and the European Union and rattling world capitals.


EU reaches preliminary deal to freeze assets of 18 Ukrainians

European Union governments reached a preliminary agreement on Tuesday to freeze the assets of 18 Ukrainians, at Kiev's request, after Ukraine's new rulers said billions in public funds have gone missing.
   
The decision still needs to be made final in the coming days and follows similar moves last week by Austria, an EU member, as well as Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
   
Austrian authorities have included Ukraine's ousted president, Viktor Yanukovich, in their list of targets but it was not clear whether his assets would now be frozen throughout the 28-nation bloc.


NATO

NATO allies stand in solidarity in the face of the Ukraine crisis and will intensify their assessment of how it affects the alliance's security, NATO Secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday.
   
Speaking after a meeting of NATO ambassadors, convened at the request of Poland, Rasmussen also said Russia continued to violate its international commitments towards Ukraine despite calls for Moscow to de-escalate the conflict.
   
"NATO allies stand together in the spirit of strong solidarity in this grave crisis. We undertake to intensify our rigorous ongoing assessment of the implications of this crisis for our alliance's security," Rasmussen told reporters.

Russia's Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Ukraine by telephone on Tuesday and their positions on the issue are "close", the Kremlin said.

It said the presidents of the veto-wielding U.N. Security Council nation expressed hope that "the steps taken by the Russian leadership will allow for the reduction of ... tension and provide for the security of Russian-speaking citizens living in Crimea and the eastern regions of Ukraine."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier there had been an "unconstitutional coup" in Ukraine and ousted leader Viktor Yanukovich was still the legitimate leader of the country despite giving up all power.

The former KGB spy also told reporters there was no need to use force in Ukraine's southern Crimea region at the moment, but Russia reserved the right to do so as a "last resort".

Putin denied that Russian troops seized Ukraine's southern Crimea region, saying "local forces of self defence" were responsible for taking over official buildings.
   
Putin also told a news conference that Russia had no interest in provoking separatist sentiment in Crimea.

He also said Russia would not recognize the results of elections in Ukraine which were held under the current conditions of "terror".
   
"If they are held under such terror as we see now, then we won't recognize them," Putin told a news conference.

Putin also stated that he had met ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich two days ago in Russia and he was "safe and sound".
   
He dismissed rumors that Yanukovich had died of a heart attack, saying the ousted leader would attend the funerals of the rumor mongers.


Italy

Russia has agreed to a meeting with representatives from NATO on Wednesday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday.

"I have just been informed that the Russian Federation has agreed to the summoning of a NATO-Russia council meeting for tomorrow," she told a committee hearing in the Italian parliament.

Ukraine's SBU

The head of Ukraine's SBU security service said Ukraine's telecommunications system has come under attack, with equipment installed in Russian-controlled Crimea used to interfere with the mobile phones of members of parliament.
   
"I confirm that an IP-telephonic attack is under way on mobile phones of members of Ukrainian parliament for the second day in row," Valentyn Nalivaichenko told a news briefing.

"At the entrance to (telecoms firm) Ukrtelecom in Crimea, illegally and in violation of all commercial contracts, was installed equipment that blocks my phone as well as the phones of other deputies, regardless of their political affiliation," he said.
   
"The security services are now seeking to restore at least the security of communications," he said. "All state information security systems were unprepared for such a brazen violation of the law."


Kerry's visit to Kiev

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday Russia's "act of aggression" in Ukraine and said Moscow, which has taken control of the Crimea region, was looking for a pretext to invade more of the country.

"The United States reaffirms our commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity according to international law. We condemn the Russian Federation's act of aggression," Kerry told a news conference during a visit to Kiev intended to show support for Ukraine's new leaders.

"It is clear that Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further," he said.

Earlier, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kiev and announced an economic package and technical assistance for Ukraine in a show of support for its new government amid escalating tensions with Russia.
   
Kerry's visit comes as Washington and its Western allies step up pressure on Moscow to withdraw its troops from Ukraine's Crimea region or face economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
   
A senior U.S. administration official, who briefed reporters en route to Kiev, said the Obama administration would work with Congress to approve $1 billion in loan guarantees to help lessen the impact on Ukrainians of proposed energy subsidy cuts.


US

U.S. President Barack Obama said  that Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression in Ukraine is not a sign of Russian strength but rather a reflection of the deep concern Russia's neighbors have about Moscow's meddling.
   
In remarks to reporters, Obama ridiculed Putin's reason for sending the Russian military into the Crimea region of southern Ukraine. Putin said the move was aimed at protecting Russian nationals but Obama calls the incursion a violation of international law.
   
"President Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations," Obama said. "But I don't think that's fooling anybody."
  
Obama said he held a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday morning, his second such session in two days about Ukraine.
 
This as the White House pledged to help ensure Ukraine had "sufficient financing" to restore stability and economic growth and said it was providing advice on getting back stolen assets and adjusting to trade pressures related to energy.
   
In a statement, the White House said the United States would provide assistance to train election observers in Ukraine. It said a U.S. team would go there this week to help authorities identify and reclaim stolen assets.
   
The United States would also provide "technical advice" to the Ukrainian government on the country's World Trade Organization rights with respect to Russia, particularly regarding energy.
   
"At the same time the United States is ready to provide assistance and financing to help Ukrainian businesses find new export markets and adjust to trade pressures and to enhance energy efficiency, helping to reduce dependence on imported gas," it said.

In turn, the Pentagon said the United States is suspending all military engagements with Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, including military exercises and port visits.

"We call on Russia to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine and for Russian forces in Crimea to return to their bases, as required under the agreements governing the Russia Black Sea Fleet," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.

Meanwhile, a Kremlin aide said that if the United States were to impose sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, Moscow might be forced to drop the dollar as a reserve currency and refuse to pay off any loans to U.S. banks.
   
Sergei Glazyev, an adviser to the Kremlin who is often used by the authorities to stake out a hardline stance but does not make policy, added that if Washington froze the accounts of Russian businesses and individuals, Moscow would recommend that all holders of U.S. treasuries sell them.


OSCE

Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will go to the Crimea region where Russian forces have taken control, Ukraine's top security official said on Tuesday.

Andriy Paruby told a news conference that the security situation on the Black sea peninsula was complicated but stable.


Poland

Poland has summoned the Russian ambassador in Warsaw over the crisis in Ukraine, Poland's foreign ministry said.
   
"Russian aggression and violating of Ukraine territorial integrity unacceptable," ministry spokesman Marcin Wojciechowski said in a post on Twitter in which he announced the ambassador had been summoned.


Ukraine gas debt

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Ukraine's gas debt to Russia would total almost $2 billion if Ukraine fails to pay for February deliveries in full.
   
He said that current debt stands at between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion.
   
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia's top gas producer Gazprom said it would remove a discount on gas prices for Ukraine starting from April.


REUTERS


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